Conspiracies and Bets
by N.T. Embe
Summary: Part Four in the Seph/Elena series! - Oh no. Now the two biggest troublemakers of the Turks and Soldier have gotten together. WHAT HORRORS WILL THEY CONSPIRE OF TOGETHER! Elena, it's your fault. YOU spilled the beans!


**Title:** Conspiracies and Bets  
**Rating:** T…for TESTOSTERONE!  
**Theme:** Devious  
**Pairings/Characters:** Pshaw! Main characters? Who needs those in a fic series centered _completely_ about them!onethree?five~!six! XD No my dears, today, we have… RENO THE RED HAIRED AND ZACKARY THE GALLANT! Deal with it. X'D  
**Word Count:** 2,333  
**Summary:** And Shin-Ra made Turks and Soldier, to protect and deal its many businesses. But the Planet made Reno and Zack, and that trumped anything Shin-Ra could _ever_ envision! And poor Sephiroth and Elena, they couldn't see if it was good or not, because they had no idea what was to unfold.  
**Time Period:** The day after Rain, Slow Down, and Silver Lining take place.  
**Warnings:** Dude. Characters? THAT WAS WARNING ENOUGH!  
**Dedication:** To my guild, ::The Turks::, because I wish I had the time now in between life and classes to RP as much as I once used to. There are other things that I need to do right now, but in the depths of my heart, you and your beautiful stories and loves never leave me. I will come back to you when I can. Until then: live, love, and always dream wild and crazy dreams!  
**Disclaimer:** I do not ow—BAWWWWHHHHHH IT'S TOO HARD TO SAY IT! I REFUSE! DX –Clings to all things Final Fantasy-  
**A/N:** Enjoy the fourth fic in the Sephiroth x Elena series! ;D  
**Song:** _Get Up & Move_ by Koda Kumi. 

. . . . . . .

"YO! SWAY THOSE FAIR HIPS MY WAY, DADDY!"

Every eye in the cafeteria jerked his way. A considerable amount of jaws dropped in slack gawking too. Not a few people ran into each other or dropped their 'edibles' in surprise. And un importante, deep sky blue irises turning squarely on him in a shock that itself was reward enough. He had to laugh to himself. One large clock brusquely announced 12:05PM. The busiest hour _above all_ for the main Shin-Ra Headquarters Cafeteria had just begun. Already almost every seat was packed with Soldier, infantrymen, and the common assortment of secretaries, desk clerks, and other workers.

_Perfect _timing.

And a split second later, most heads left the sole Turk to be found in their midst and whirled eagerly to see where his aqua eyes focused. There was nowhere for Zack Fair to run if he had wanted to, or even tried. Thankfully, he had no desire to run anywhere.

"My spicy and fiery, soon-to-be lover of all my wet fantasies!" the dark haired Soldier First called out, raising an arm amorously into the air towards the Turk. The 'suit' pursed his lips. Then, half-parted in an open swirl, his keenness was emphasized as his slim tongue slid out, glossing over one and then the other slowly, hungrily coasting where other skin should touch in every temperature and thrust easily conjured to mind. The Soldier's teeth bared, the corners of his mouth sweeping upwards, voracity in the tenseness of his jaw and the quivering Adam's apple. Then it smoothed away and a smile like silk and a woman's emphatic curves swept his face. Twisting his hips, a footstep forward, retracted with another curl of the waist, the Soldier's other arm rose in promise as a rhythmic sashaying swept him forward and back slightly across the floor between seats and tables. In a glided whorl that drew him right up against the suited redhead, bodies flush against each other, the black haired Soldier wrapped an arm possessively around the low of the Turk's back and found with little surprise as his lips hovered over Reno's that his heart raced with more than adrenaline.

"I knew you'd come knocking someday," the Soldier declared in a breathless rumble of sound. For his part, the Turk had the authority to look affronted, if mildly so. "'ey, macho-man," Reno purred abruptly, doing an astounding job of maintaining his composure while the Soldier dipped him slightly in the midst of the growing murmurs. "Before ya take me ta bed, I've gotta proposition fer ya." The Soldier's face blanked immediately, large eyes blinking down at the slim Turk with bewilderment. "But we haven't even been on our honeymoon yet," he offered, taking a stab in the dark at a line of humor that caused a chorus of choking from their ignored audience. Reno shrugged. "Eh, ya know how tha boss likes ta overwork me."

Suddenly his hand worked its way up the Soldier First's back, a caress hidden in the idle cat's pawing. With the arm soon resting around the back of the Soldier's neck, Reno pulled himself straighter against his taller with remarkable ease. "But this's gotta be jus' 'tween you an' me, baby," the Turk invited, a laid-back smirk touching his wandering eyes. Only someone with Zack's proximity would have heard the cautionary tremors in the suit's words. A look of understanding broke over the Soldier's face and momentarily then into devious shadow. "I expect food won't be a problem…," he trailed off, feeling assured as the suit gave him a long look and then declared he needed to be put down first.

. . . . . . .

"Pho," Zack managed to say around a mouthful of a large sub sandwich. "Whaff's diffs iphoo you wan' m' helph wiff?"

Reno was, shockingly enough, able to ignore the Soldier's lack of manners. Even more shockingly, able to understand what the dark haired man had _asked_. "How often do ya play Matchmaker?" he asked, digging deep into the meat of the matter.

The Soldier's face screwed up either in thought or because he was having a hard time swallowing that last considerably large bite of his meal. Which, Reno had agreed to foot the bill for. After a moment he was able to get down the food and come up with an offhanded answer. "About once a week, to as uncommon as once a month. Why? Am I finally gonna get to play in the Turk's league?" He grinned at the prospect, however mildly fearful the concept could be.

"Somethin' like," the red haired Turk agreed, mutually aware of the opposite end of that spectrum. The inconceivability would only be emphasized by the three words he waited to give Zack until the Soldier had finished off another quarter of his meal. Then he fixed the Soldier with a hard stare like he had seen Tseng give countless other people before when he wanted to be dramatic, in Reno's eyes. But the Turk knew the real point behind it—to watch it sink in, and to display his seriousness. This…he could pretend was nothing but dire. "Elena and Sephiroth."

Zack blanched. Then, he leapt to his feet, knocking down his chair as he smacked the table and shouted. "SO _THAT'S_ WHO HE SAW!"

Now it was Reno's turn to be surprised. "Ya knew?"

The Soldier shook his head quickly as he bent down to pick up his chair. Thankfully they were inside Reno's apartment, so no eyes could be drawn or ears overhear their conversation. "No, I didn't know who it was. Though I had an inkling it was a girl, even though Seph wouldn't tell me _anything_." He groaned the last word. "You've got no idea how much I've been wanting to find out what went on that he missed that meeting and ended up outside Headquarters soaked through like a ragdoll in a flood."

"Shiva," Reno hissed quietly in the closest thing to awe. The things the Soldier was suggesting bordered on the same fine edges as Tseng refusing the Big Boss a direct order. Sephiroth, the Great General of Shin-Ra. Not playing as planned? That man was more a machine than any other being under Shin-Ra's name. He did not refuse orders. He had no ability to refuse. It was common understanding among the Turks that the General was strung up on wires of mythril. Stronger than fate, he could not move in any way Shin-Ra did not demand. Freedom? If they were all enslaved, Sephiroth was the altar bolted down beneath their routine sacrifices.

The General's fellow First Class Soldier gave the Turk a sympathetic glance. "Now you know how _I_ felt when I found out."

Reno stirred at last and sat back in his chair, slumping not inelegantly. "I'll leave tha findin' out what caused that ta ya," he lightly passed the responsibility back to the Soldier. "I wan' nothin' ta do with that."

"Yeah," Zack said sheepishly, scratching a fingernail against his cheek self-consciously. "But uhmm, other news, other news," he repeated, trying to redirect the conversation. "Tell me what you know. If you want my help, I've got to be level with you and vice versa."

"Cool down," Reno commanded aloofly. "I'm thinkin'," he added after a moment. Then he unfolded the picture for the Soldier First with as much fullness as he could offer, including his trip to Elena's place after witnessing 'the exchange.' "In tha end, what I'm lookin' ta do is find some proof. An' ya've already given me a good chunk of it." There was a firm glint of success in the Turk's aqua irises as he glanced across the table at Zack.

"Seems like it," the Soldier agreed, nodding. "Hummm!" He pushed himself away from the table and tilted his chair back, reclining precariously like that as his eyes searched the ceiling for a pattern to his thoughts. "Let's take it a step further," he said slowly.

Reno tilted his head casually, indicating for the other man to go on.

"Let's…make a bet."

"Sounds fun."

"Three parts."

"Only?"

"Three-parts," the Soldier repeated with a nod. "A race."

"Whoever gets there first—"

"Uh-huh. Two out of three, is the winner. Three out of three, you get a grand prize."

"Material or satisfaction?"

"Material of course."

"Big?"

"Valuable," Zack corrected Reno.

"Really." A twinge of doubt, a note of challenge.

"Blackmail on the loser's boss." A grin.

A smirk. "Only wit' three outta three, huh?"

"Only with."

"An' fer two outta three?"

"Public humiliation for the loser. Choice goes to the champ. Winner also gets the title of Loki Prince, is bowed to three times by his inferior in front of a crowd, and—shoe kissing, of course, has to be included—then we have the old dog-on-a-chain gag. Which is allowed the winner at least for a month." Zack tapped his knuckles under his chin thoughtfully for a moment before glancing to Reno. "Have anything to add to that?"

The Turk did not answer immediately. Eventually, he leaned forward. "Tha opportunity goes ta tha winner ta stock up on whatever condemning blackmail of tha loser that he deems fit. Disgustin', embarrassin', pathetic—anythin' goes."

Zack whistled and steepled his fingers against each other, evaluating the other man with respect. "You Turks sure do have a think for collecting dirt on your enemies."

"An' our rivals," Reno noted, a forthcoming expression on his angled face.

Zack stared and then grinned. "Nice to know it!"

"Now, 'bout those three parts. What were ya thinkin'?"

"Oh, you know. Step one, get them on a date—or as close to one as we can get."

"Man," Reno stared at the Soldier. "Ya shoot fer tha stars, don'cha Fair?"

"Always," the Soldier winked. "Next! Got to get a first kiss!"

"Please don' tell me tha third step's takin' her home," the Turk murmured, an indeterminable expression on his face.

"No, no, no," the Soldier raised his hands, assuring him it was not in his plans. "I've got too much respect for the guy to set him up like that—"

"But no ta set him up like this." Reno smirked.

"Yeah, yeah! Drop it, buddy! _ANYWAY_, as I was _saying_," he forcefully changed tracks. "I wouldn't want to hurt the girl's feelings either. I may not know your partner—"

"Co-worker."

"Alright, co-worker then," Zack corrected himself. "But it's wrong to force them into a situation like that, not knowing how it's going to end up and if they're not going to come away more hurt than happy, you know what I mean?" Zack was gesturing as he spoke, trying to carry his message across to Reno with his hands as well as with his words.

"I get ya," Reno acclaimed delicately, a remarkably quiet smile on his lips. "I don' plan on lettin' _anyone_ hurt 'Lena, whether it's tha big Boss Man or tha General or yer plans. Do ya really think I'd agree ta this otherwise?" he asked, and though his aqua eyes seemed lazy, there was a warning virility that made them sharper than blade-edge. Zack did not allow himself to forget that look and nodded fervently to appease the Turk.

"No, no you wouldn't have," Zack agreed.

"Anyway, third part?" Reno settled back into his forward lean smoothly, the mysterious aggression gone from his body and eyes.

"Third part is the aftermath," Zack continued with relief, a smile tugging at his lips again, if more tentatively. "We protect them from the hyenas, and make it long-lasting!"

Reno gawked. "…ya do know how hard tha's gonna be, right?"

"Yeah," the Soldier grinned again. "But would you even be interested if that wasn't the case?"

"'ey, I came ta _you_ buddy," Reno pointed out.

"That doesn't matter!" The Soldier snorted and waved a hand dismissively. "Question is, do we have a deal, or does the big bad Turk want to blow it all off?" He held out his hand across the table. "You know you can't do it without me. And _I_ know you can't do it without me, what's more! So just, give in and let's DO this!"

The Turk glanced at the Soldier before him, in his apartment, offering him a bargain that led to great rewards on every end, and thus _huge_ hazards along every second of the way. Without saying a word, he put his hand in that of the First Class's. "Yer crazier than they give ya credit fer, Fair."

"Yeah-heah-heahhh…," the Soldier admitted, slightly embarrassed. "Let's just…_not_ bring that up. It's going to be fun doing business with you, though, I've got to admit." He released the Turk's hand and stood up, reaching for the plates before Reno waved his hands away aloofly. "Leave 'em," the Turk said, and got up as well. "E'll take care of 'em whenever I get back."

"Okay then," Zack responded cheerily and waited for the Turk to don his jacket before they both headed for the door. "So we'll be in touch, right?"

"Mmhmm," the Turk answered, stepping out after the Soldier and locking his apartment door behind them. Together they headed down the stairs and out of the building. They would not stay together for very long. Too many people could bear eyewitness to their devices here in the Midgar streets, and that information could easily weasel its way back into the ears of those they didn't want knowing of this—namely, everyone in Shin-Ra.

"You know, you completely caught me off guard at lunch today," the Soldier admitted after a moment.

The Turk shrugged and kept walking, his eyes forward. "Thought it was tha easiest way ta fool tha curious."

"Yeah, but you usually do things with more style. I wasn't expecting that!"

"Yer jus' upset 'cause yer boyfriend's gonna leave ya now."

"Hey, shut up! I _have_ no boyfriend, thank you very much!"

"Not what tha security cameras said."

"Whatever happened to 'your mom'?" the Soldier groaned.


End file.
